Could tripping on drugs help end addiction?

NPR reports that researchers are reconsidering decades-old experiments that use the drug LSD to treat alcoholism.

Contemporary analysis of six different studies conducted in the ‘60s and ’70s found that a single experience with acid can have a beneficial effect, and a Johns Hopkins psychologist explained how hallucinogens in mushrooms and salvia are currently being tested as treatments for smokers and cancer patients struggling to cope.

From the story:

Why would hallucinogens be suited for these kinds of treatments? (Matthew W. Johnson, of Johns Hopkins) said people taking the drugs in the studies he’s helped with report that it is “one of the most meaningful experiences — or the most meaningful — in their life.”

Some says the “trip” changes the direction of their lives and can trigger a redefinition of how they see themselves. That could be as profound as, “I’m now a nondrinker, or whatever the addiction may be,” he said.

Of course, the LSD experiments analyzed in the latest report involved about 500 people. And the drug can cause very disturbing problems for some people who take it — especially at high doses. Larger, more careful studies would be required to assess the approach.

As it is, Johnson said various tests of hallucinogens as treatments suggest that the right surroundings and support are important during a therapeutic trip. “There have been plenty of people who have been alcoholics who have taken LSD, and it has done nothing for their alcoholism,” Johnson said.